Manchester United have already won the League Cup this season, seeing off Newcastle in the final last month.
But with the Premier League title gone, Erik ten Hag will no doubt have been keen to continue going strong in this competition to try and add some more silverware to his collection.
And when all was said and done at Old Trafford, Manchester United went through to the next round thanks to a complete collapse from Fulham.
Fulham began the match the much brighter of the two sides, with Manchester United struggling to get out of their own half.
Harry Maguire looked especially nervous in the first 45, picking up a yellow card that will keep him out of the semi-final.
The half-time whistle blew with the score deadlocked at 0-0 with both sides not really creating too much in terms of big chances.
Marco Silva’s side continued to keep the pressure on and opened the scoring after 50 minutes when Alexsandar Mitrovic guided in a loose ball from a corner.
After going 1-0 down, Ten Hag opted to bring on Antony for Scott McTominay to try and test Fulham’s left-hand side. Mitrovic then nearly added a second 65 minutes in but De Gea made another top save.
However, Fulham were dealt a major blow 69 minutes in when Willian blocked the ball on the line with his hand. This eventually led to United getting a penalty and the Brazilian being sent off.
It got even worse for Fulham after the initial decision as Mitrovic was sent off for pushing the referee before Bruno Fernandes stepped up to score from the spot.
Manchester United got their second of the day less than two minutes after the penalty. Shaw burst down the left and his low cross was flicked in by Marcel Sabitzer.
Fernandes netted his second in injury time to round out the win.
Player ratings
Manchester United
- GK: David de Gea (7)
- RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (6)
- CB: Harry Maguire (6)
- CB: Lisandro Martinez (6)
- LB: Luke Shaw (6.5)
- CDM: Marcel Sabitzer (6.5)
- CDM: Scott McTominay (4.5)
- CAM: Bruno Fernandes (7.5)
- RW: Jadon Sancho (5.5)
- ST: Wout Weghorst (5)
- LW: Marcus Rashford (5)
Substitutes
- Antony (6)
- Fred (4)
Fulham
- GK: Bernd Leno (5)
- RB: Kenny Tete (5)
- CB: Isa Diop (6)
- CB: Tim Ream (6)
- LB: Antonee Robinson (6)
- CDM: Joao Palhinha (6.5)
- CDM: Harrison Reed (6.5)
- CAM: Andreas Pereira (5.5)
- RW: Bobby Reid (5)
- ST: Alexsandr Mitrovic (3)
- LW: Willian (3)
Substitutes
- Dan James (N/A)
- Cedric (N/A)
- Tom Cairney (N/A)
- Manor Solomon (N/A)
Match report
Marcel Sabitzer’s first half by numbers vs. Fulham:
80% pass accuracy
2 interceptions
1 key pass
1 tackle won
1 block
1 shot on targetHad a great chance to take the lead. 😤 pic.twitter.com/eo9Q0n36Nq
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) March 19, 2023
Lisandro Martinez’s first half by numbers vs. Fulham:
87% pass accuracy
3/4 ground duels won
2 long balls completed
2 tackles won
2 clearances
1 interception
1/1 dribble completedPlaying it out well. 👏 pic.twitter.com/l6zRvSLTYf
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) March 19, 2023
Maguire starts and already Man U look jittery 🙈
— Pauline Grant 🌻🐑⚽🔴⚪ (@donsquine) March 19, 2023
Against a better team this is another 7 nil drubbing performance from us#MUFC
— Atmos MUFC (@Atmos05) March 19, 2023
Nah, just look at sabitzer standing instead of holding a player😡 #MUFC
— st. josh 👻🥇🆒🆙 (@ghostbojji) March 19, 2023
Mctominay needs giving up on. Dunno what he offers #MUFC
— Mark G (@mark_v1) March 19, 2023
ten Hag not making changes at half was utterly idiotic. #MUNFUL • #MUFC • #FACup
— Zande 🇨🇩 (@KongoZande) March 19, 2023
Starting to look like a team knackered.
— Col_MUFC (@_ColinMUFC_) March 19, 2023
Disgraceful scenes from Fulham. Clearest red card handball you’ll ever see + they lose their minds.#MUFC
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) March 19, 2023
FULHAM DOWN TO 9 MEN AND HAVE NO MANAGER AS WELL FOR THE LAST 20 MINUTES pic.twitter.com/m1PhmJ6H5r
— ☈ッ (@TheFergusonWay) March 19, 2023
Wow. Surely one of the quickest 3 red cards #fulham
— Laura Woods (@laura_woodsy) March 19, 2023
